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New Affiliate: KCCK Cedar Rapids, Iowa!! From the outset, you're in for a treat with Steve Oliver and Vince Mai. There's an incredible track from the new Ultrablue, undoubtedly one of the finest to this point in the year as well as a Gregg Karukas classic! We've also included a huge hit from Nick Colionne as inducement to check out Then & Now on After Hours, Nick is featured in that spot. On the air or on line, experience Café Jazz for the absolute best in smooth jazz !! |
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Showcase CD |
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Elixir, Pam's sixth and latest cd, is another masterpiece. The new project once again matches Williams' talents with those of saxman David Mann. This marks the third occasion the two have collaborated thus continuing the strong tradition established on The Perfect Love, Pam's Shanachie Records debut and continued on Sweet Saxations. While Mann contributes some amazing textures on keys and produces three selections, Pam's own flair for casting musical spells is what makes this album a winner. As evidence, we offer a trio of tracks that represent some of the project's finest moments and I know you're gonna love'em all. |
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Photo: Courtesy ofPamelaWilliams.com |
An uplifting original entitled Rise launches the feature.
Give Me What You Got, Pam's awesome cover of the Al Jarreau classic
from 1980, kicks-off hour 2. Meanwhile it's Rejuvination, an immediate
all-time favourite, that's been reserved for the program finale. The
latter track is another original composition while all three feature
Pam's exclusive instrumentation. In addition, Williams produced the
tracks, as she continues to develop that aspect of her musicality. Nevertheless,
Pam's sax work best demonstrates the scope of her genius. Subtle, sensual,
& sophisticated, this latest album rather convincingly confirms a long-held
belief. Say what you will, above all else Ms Williams is indeed the
first lady of sax!! |
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| Fresh Trax: Part One | |
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Look
What's Happened - Shilts: Paul
Weimar earned his unusual nickname because of a vigorous display following
a poor goal in an English soccer match allowed by a goaltender named
Shilts. Subsequently, whenever he played, Weimar would respond to shouts
of "Shilts" in a rather animated fashion. Making a name on the British
soul funk scene first with Brand New Heavies, Weimar was later recruited
by Stuart Wade for Down To The Bone. As Shilts, he's recorded and toured
as the group's front man for the past several years. Back in 2001, Weimar
issued a solo debut called See What Happens, which earned him a nomination
as best new smooth jazz artist for the year. Now after a somewhat lengthy
absence, he's just released Head Boppin'. From that effort, we have
Look What's Happened the suitably titled lead single !! |
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House
Call - Nestor Torres: The
Miami based flautist has been a perennial favourite in smooth jazz since
he released his debut in 1990. In spite of a severe boating accident
in which his lungs were crushed, Torres found strength to resume playing
thru the practice of Buddhism. With a catalogue that is on the verge
of reaching double figures, Dances Prayers and Meditations for Peace
is his latest and from that effort we have a fabulous uptempo piece
called House Call !! |
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| Fresh Trax: Part Two | ||
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What
Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Peter White:
Following the success of his Reflections cd now well over 12 years ago,
White happened across some of the out takes from that project and discovered
almost a complete album's worth of material. Whipping back into the
studio, Peter finished recordings Playin' Favourites, covers of some
his personal favourite tracks. With a release date that is imminent,
we have Peter's cover of the old Junior Walker hit from 1969, and the
advance single !! |
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Easy
Does It - Oli Silk: Over
the past 10 years or so, keyboardist Oliver Silk has been laying the
groundwork for what promises to be an auspicious release. Silk first
came to our attention here on this side of the water as one-half of
Sugar & Silk, a creative duo in which he shared star billing with bassist
and long time friend Danny Sugar; they issued a pair of releases in
the UK. Silk's name next surfaced in 2004, this time on the debut from
sax man James Vargas; Silk was the album's producer, shared in the writing
credits, and appeared on all the tracks. This now sets the stage for
Oli's own solo debut on which serves up a lush and simmering brew that
is nothing less than quintessential smooth jazz !! |
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In
The Grove - Gumbi Ortiz:
For the past 19 years, Gumbi Ortiz (pronounced Goombi) has been the
percussionist with renowned fusion guitar great Al Di Meola. Now for
his solo debut, the former New Yorker has gathered an impressive cast
of players in fashioning a tribute to his adopted home state of Florida.
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| After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Web Site : | |||||||||
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On this edition, we have music past and present as Nick Colionne steps into our Then & Now spotlight. We've taken a track from each of Nick's five solo releases and that's coming up about 25 minutes or so into the segment. In the meantime, something that's become a tradition, as we play tracks that are totally new to the show. We're delving a bit more deeply into releases from Chris Standring, Marion Meadows, Ultrablue, Steve Briody, Nelson Rangell, Gumbi Ortiz (who we was also featured on Fresh Trax), and Jack Prybylski, meanwhile there's more from Everette Harp and David Boswell. We've definitely our homework as we have something new from Bobby Caldwell and we introduce David Stellmach. All of those are included in our total of 11-brand-new-never-before-been-played-on-our-show tracks on Café Jazz After Hours where less talk and more music is the rule!! |
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Nick Colionne: From
a teen who would paint on a moustache to look older when he played,
to an artist who is currently riding the crest of his popularity,
it's now Nick Colionne's turn to reap the rewards of many years
of devotion to his craft.
That all changed with his 4th release. The album not only cracked the charts, it also spawned one of the major hits for the year with High Flyin'. In that regard, I'm very pleased to say, we here at Café Jazz, always big fans of Colionne and his music, were among the first to jump on that in a big way so hopefully we played a small part in its great success. In any event, with that project still fresh in everyone's mind, Colionne released Keepin' It Cool just earlier this past year. On the new cd, Nick does indeed keep it cool, as on many of the trax, he's never sounded better. So, now with a catalogue of five releases to his credit, it's our distinct pleasure to trace some of the musical highlights in the career of Nick Colionne! Naturally, we begin with Nick's 1994 debut and from it, East Evergreen the album's opening track. Brazilian Dreams, Steppin' Out, and From The Wes Side follow in order, the latter track a tune dedicated to one of Colionne's musical heroes. Finally, we have Can You Feel It, a selection that we played a few weeks back as part of our showcase feature on Keepin' It Cool. You're cordially invited to join us for the entire set and when you do, I'm confident, you'll not only love the sounds of Nick Colionne, you'll "feel it" too! Site: Colionne ; Nick/Narada | |||||||||
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